Apparatus for fabricating fibrous material



Oct. 8, 1940. A, sib/"SON Y 2,216,759

' APPARATUS FOR -FABRICATING' FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Jan. 51, 1955 7srleet'sfsneet 2 NVENToR.

BY WATTORNEY Oct. 8,1940. A, L, slMlSON 2,216,759

APP ARATus FOR FABRICATING FIBRoUs MATERIAL Filed Jan. 51, 1955A '7Sheets-Sheet 3 l 1li-E? INENYfOR.

` ATTORNEY. 6

Cet. 8, 1940. A. L. s'lMlsoN vAPPARATUS FOR FABRICATING FIBROUS MATERIAL`7 Sheets-Shet 4 Filed Jan. 5l, 1935 INVENToR.

A TToR/'VEY Oct. 8, 1940. A. 1 slMlsoN 2,216,759 APPARATUS FORFABRICATI'NG FIBROUS MATERIAL I Filed Jan. 31, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 i QW MW( ZINVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Oct. 8, 1940. -A L 51h/SCJN 2,216,759

APPARATUS FOR FABRICA'IING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Jan 5l, 1935 7Sheets-Sheet 6 .L f wa@ IN .ENTOR' WNO/way Oct. 8, 1940. A L. slMlSON2,216,759

APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Jan. 5l, 1955 '7Sheets-Sheet 7 ATTORNEY .Patented Oct. 8, 1940 UMTED STATES PATENToFFicE APPAaa'rUs Foa FABRICATING rnasltovs MATERIAL Application January31, i935, Serial No. 4,422

8 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and apparatus designed for use in themanufacture and fabrication of fibers for the production of material orarticles comprising such fibers in felted or matted form. The inventionis herein illustrated and embodied in an apparatus adapted for owingstreams of molten glass, reducing said streams to fine fibers orfilaments, accumulating the bers as they solidify, forming them into acontinuously advancingwweb of the matted fibers, treating the web with asuitable binding material, severing narrow strips from the web andattaching them to the face of the web in the form of spaced ribs, andsevering the web into individual plates or sections.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and practical apparatusand method for felting the fibers as they are produced, which methodincludes blowing the individual fibers, as by screen consists of acontinuously traveling endy less conveyor by which the matted bers arecontinuously carried beyond the blast in the Viorm of a web.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a part sectional plan view of a preferred form of theapparatus.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is across-sectional elevation at the line IV-IV on Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a crosssectional elevation atl the line V-V on Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional elevation at the line VI-VI on Fig. 2. i

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation showing the choppermechanism.

Fig. 8 is a similar view, but with the operating parts in the positionsassumed at a diierent period in the cycle of operations.

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view, the section being taken at the lineIX-IX on Fig. 1.

The apparatus in the particular form herein illustrated is adapted formaking battery sep arator plates comprising line glass fibers or woolmatted, felted, cut to desired size, provided with parallel spaced ribsof the same material attached to one face of the plate, and a. suitablebinding material with which the plate is impregnated and the ribsattached thereto.

The apparatus in general comprises a feeder I0 (Fig. 3) by which streamsof molten glass are supplied, Nblowers I2 which reduce the moltenmaterial to fine# fibers I3, a hood or conduit Id through which the bersare blown downward, a horizontally traveling foraminous or open meshconveyor I5 on which the material accumulates in the form of a web I6,tanks Il and i8 which may contain solutions of a binding material or thelike through which the web passes in succession, suction devices 20 and2| by which a portion of the liquid is withdrawn from the web, dryingmeans including a low pressure vacuum chamber 22 and a heat chamber 23,pairs of calender rolls 24 and 25, disk cutters 26 by which narrowstrips are severed from the body of the web, mechanism for supporting,guiding and feeding said strips and applying them in parallel spacedrelation to the upper face of the web, and cutter mechanism 21 by whichthe. web is severed to form individual articles.

The feeder I0 supplies continuous streams 3@ of molten glass which flowvertically downward through the blowers I2. A'ir, steam or other gasunder pressure is supplied to the blowers. The' downwardly directed jetsor blasts of gas from the blowers engage the streams of glass and drawthem out into ne filaments I3. These -are carried downward at a highvelocity by the force of the gas and deposited on the endless conveyorl5.

The conveyor I5 runs over,ro1ls 3|, 32 and 33, mounted on the framework34 which provides a support for the entire fabricating apparatus. Theconveyor I5 is preferably a wire screen conveyor of open mesh,suiliciently fine to prevent the passage of the fibrous materialtherethrough, but which permits the blastv of gas from the blowers topass freely therethrough at a high velocity so that the glass fibers areclosely packed on the screen by the pressure of the gas. The hood I4confines 'the blast, prevents scattering rof the fibers and causes aneven distribution of the air pressure so that the bers are deposited inan evenlayer on the vconveyor I5.. The bers as they are deposited, areinterwoven, felted and matted so that the material is carried forward bythe conveyor in. the form of a closely matted web i6.

A vacuum chamber 35 is provided beneath the horizontal lead of theconveyor I5 and underlies high vacuum chamber 31 from which,v the airis-v exhausted through a pipe 38. This serves to prevent clogging of thematerial at the outlet 36 and supplements the action of the blowers incompacting the material. 'f

It will be noted that the horizontally traveling conveyor I5 issubstantially perpendicular to the blast of air or gas passingtherethrough. It will also be noted that the bers are not accumulateduntil they have reached a position to be supported on the conveyor, saidfibers being separate and free to descend at the high velocity of theblast of gas. In other words, they are free and unobstructed duringtheir rapid descent through the hood. g

As the web I6 advances beyond the conveyor I5, it passes between a pairof rolls 40 which serve to crush any lumps or shot which the web maycontain. From the rolls 40,.the web passes downward to a guide roll 4Iwhich is partially immersed in a bath 42 contained in a tank I1. Thebath may consist of a solution of latex, glue or other binder ormaterial, or any liquid, emulsion, or solution with which the web is tobe treated. The web passes around the lower surface of the roll 4I andis thereby guided through the bath 42. From the roll 4I, the web passesupward to and over an overhead roll 43 and thence downward to a secondbath of binding material or the like contained in a tank I8. The web isguided through the second bath by a roll 44 and from thence passesupward to and around a second overhead roll 45.

The web I6 is supported and guided by an endless belt conveyor 46 whichis trained over the rolls 4I, 43, 44 and 4.5 and rolls 41, 48 and 49.The web in its passage through the tanks I1 and lI8 is interposedbetween the conveyor 46 and the rolls 4I and 44, and the web as itpasses over the rolls 43 and 45 overlies the conveyor 46. Each of therolls 4I and 44 is in the form of a hollow cylindrical shell or drumprovided with a multiplicity of perforations 50 spaced at shortintervals to permit free access of the treating solution through theinterior of the roll to the inner surface of the web. The conveyor 46 isalso made of openwork permitting free access of the solution to theouter surface of the web.

Driving mechanism for the web feeding devices includes an electric motor52 (Figs. l and 2) which operates through a chain belt 53 and a speedchanging device 54 to continuously rotate a drive shaft 55. Motion istransmitted from the shaft 55 through a belt 56 to a shaft carrying aworm 51 which drives a worm gear on the shaft 58 of the conveyor roll33, thereby driving said roll and the conveyor I5. A chain belt 59running over sprockets on the shaft 58 and the shaft 60 of the roll 4I,drives said roll. A chain belt 6I transmits motion from the shaft 60 tothe shaft 62 of the roll 44. The rolls 4I and 44 are thus positivelydriven and serve to drive the endless conveyor 46 and the web I6 whichare trained thereover.

The conveyor 46 and web I6 as they emerge from the bath 42 movevertically upward past the suction chamber 20, the latter being Providedwith a comparatively narrow slot or mouth 63 across which said conveyorand web are moved.

A suillciently high vacuum is maintained within the chamber 26 to causea strong inward draft of air through the web at the mouth 63.- Thisoperates to remove from the web the excess liquid taken up therebyduring its passage through the bath 42, and also insures an 'evendistribution and permeation of the liquid throughout the entire web. Theamount of liquid withdrawn, or rather the amount which is retained bythe web, can be regulated and adjustably varied by regulating the degreeof vacuum or suction within the chamber 20. The suction device 2|operates in like manner to withdraw the excess liquid from the web afterit passes through the second tank I8.

As the web passes downward from the idler roll 45, it traverses thev lowvacuum chamber 22. This creates a moderate draft of drying air which, asit passes through the web, dries or partially v\dries the web. Thechamber 22 is of considerable After the web has traversed the vacuumchaml ber 22, it passes between the pairs of calender rolls 24 and 25.These may be adjusted to apply considerable pressure to the web, furthercompacting it and giving it smooth finished surfaces. These rolls may beheated, if desired, for further drying the web andgiving it smooth,finished surfaces.

The disk cutters 26 are mounted on a shaft 64 between the pairs of rolls24 and 25. These cutters, as shown, are arranged to run over themarginal portions of the web and are spaced at short intervals so thatthey sever narrow strips 65 from the body of the web. `A disk cutter 66is mounted on the shaft 64 in position to cut the web along its centerline, dividing it into two halves. A roll 61 is arranged to engage theunder surface of the web directly beneath the cutters and cooperatestherewith.

The calender rolls and cutters are driven by power transmitted throughthe drive shaft and a sprocket chain 68 (Figs. 2 and 4), the latterdriving a worm shaft 69. 'Ihe shaft 69A has driving connections through'worm gearing 10 with the calender rolls 24, and through worm gearing 1Iwith the rolls 25. The shafts 12 and 13 of the upper and lower rolls 24carry intermeshin gears 14 and 15 (Fig. 4). Motion is transmitted fromthe shaft 12 through a'belt 16 to the cutter shaft 64. Motion istransmitted from the lower roll 24 through a belt 11 to the roll 61 forpositively driving the latter.

After the web passes beyond the calender rolls, the strips 65 aretrained over guide rolls or pulleys by which said strips are spaced atequal intervals transversely of the main web and brought into positionto overlie and contact with the web. The means for guiding the stripsincludes a pair of bars 18 (Fig. 4) supported on a magnet isdeenergized, the gripping bar is with-` framework 19 above the calenderrolls. Said bars are downwardly .and inwardly convergent and carry aseries of guide ,rolls 80 spaced at equal intervals therealong. Thestrips of webbing 65 after passing the calender rolls extend upwardly tothe guide rolls 80 which are individual to said strips.

A second pair of inclined guide bars 82 carry rolls 83. Each strip 65extends inwardly from its guide roll 80 to the corresponding roll 83 andfrom thence forwardly and downwardly to a horizontal roll 85 whichextends across and directly ove'r the main web. The rolls 83' are sopositioned that the strips 65 are uniformly spaced when brought intocontact with the main web. The binding material which has been appliedto the web may retain sumcient moisture to cause the strips 65 to adhereto the web as they pass beneath the roll 85. A pair of pressure rolls 86and 81 are positioned in advance of the roll 85. The web with the stripsor ribs 65 applied thereto, passes between the rolls 86 and 81, therebyfirmly pressing the ribs and main web together and insuring a good bondtherebetween.

After the web passes beyond the rolls 86, 81, it is, severed intoindividual plates or pieces by means of the chopper mechanism 21 whichwill now be described. This mechanism (see Figs. 3 and 6 to 9) comprisesa horizontally disposed chopper blade 90 above the path of the web. Theblade is mounted on an angle bar 9| secured at its ends to heads 92formed with bearing sleeves mounted to reciprocate on vertical guiderods 93, said rods being mounted in a frame 94 which carries the choppermechanism. As the blade moves downward, it shears across the frontvertical face of a chopping block 95 and severs a predetermined lengthof the ribbed mat or web which has been advanced from the rolls 86, 81over aV stationary supporting plate 98.

The advancing web is momentarily held stationary at the choppingposition by means of a gripping bar 91 arranged over the plate 96. Saidbar is operatively connected to the solenoid of an 1 electromagnet 98which is periodically energized momentarily, as hereinafter described,and thereby moves the bar 91 downward to the web gripping position (Fig.1). When the electrodrawn by a coil spring 99.

The chopper is actuated by a continuously running electric motor mountedon the frame 94, said motor having a belt connection |0| with a pulley|02 mounted on a drive shaft |03. Crank arms |04 secured to the ends ofthe drive shaft are connected through links |05 with the heads 92. Theshaft 03 is intermittently rotated periodically through one completerotation in a manner hereinafter described, and thereby periodicallyreciprocates the chopper blade 90.

The mechanism for controlling the periodic rotations of the drive shaft|03 is as follows: The pulley |02 is mounted on a bearing sleeve |06which in turn is mounted to rotate freely on the shaft |03. The pulleyhas a friction driving connection with the sleeve |06 which serves as asafety device permitting the pulley to rotate independently of thesleeve in the event of an excessive load or obstruction which wouldprevent the sleeve from being normally rotated by the pulley. Thefriction driving connection comprises a pair offrictional disks |01 onopposite sides ofthe hub or web |08 of the pulley. One of said disksbears against a flange portion |09 of the sleeve |06.v A collar ||0bears against .drive shaft and held against rotation relative thereto bya spline or key 6. The left hand end of the sleeve |06 is shaped to formthe other clutch member. The clutch members are periodically separatedand held apart by means of a holding pin ||1 mounted in a bearing blockl|8 and movable into and out of an annular groove I9 formed in theclutch member I5, said holding pin being projected into the groove byacoil spring |20.

The holding pin is periodically withdrawn from the clutch by means of anelectromagnet |2| having a core |22 connected to a lever |23 fulcrumed lat |24 on the block I8. The lever carries a trigger |25 which engages ashoulder formed on a head |26 attached to the holding pin ||1. When themagnet |2| is energized, the lever |23 operates through said trigger todraw the holding pin out of the groove I9. l This permits the clutchmember ||5 to be moved into engagement with the clutch member |09 bymeans of coil springs |21. When the clutch members are thus engaged, thecontinuously rotating pulley |02 imparts a rotation to the cutter driveshaft |03 for reciprocating the cutter blade 90. When the electromagnet|2| is energized, the trigger |25 during its downward movement is cammedaway from the head |26 by means of a cam |29, thereby releasing theholding pin |i1 after it .has been withdrawn from the clutch member.from-immediately reentering the groove I9, by a cam projection|30`formed on the wall of the cam groove. A s soon as the shaftcommences to rotate, the projection |30 is carried beyond the holdingpin, permitting the latter to reenter the widened portion of the groove.When the shaft |03 has nearly completed its rotation, the cam |30engages the holding pin ||1 so that the clutch sleeve |5 is cammed toits released position'and the shaft comes to rest. A spring actuateddetent |3| engages a notch in the clutch member |5 and thereby arrestsand holds the latter in the same position after each rotation of theshaft.

A mercury switch |33 (Figs. 7 and 8) is connected in the circuits of theelectromagnets 98 and |2|. The switch is periodically actuated by a cam|34 mounted on the shaft of the roll 81. Said cam operates once duringeach complete rotation of the roll 81 to rock an arm |35 on a rock shaftcarrying an arm |36 operatively connected to the switch, When the magnetcircuits are closed, the magnet 98 operates immediately to lower theclamping bar 91 for the purpose heretofore described. The bar 91 reachesits clamping position slightly in advance of the cutting stroke of theknife bar so that the web at the cutting line is held stationary duringseverance. As the switch |33 is only closed for a very brief interval,the -bar 91 is withdrawn before the web can pile up to any objectionableextent between said bar and the feed roll 81.

The width of thelndividual plates or pieces I6a which are severed fromthe web may be adjustably varied by replacing the roll 81 by a roll of adifferent ydiameter or by providing a plurality of cams |34 so that morethan one chopping operation is effected during each rotation of the rollModifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of myinvention.

The holding pin is prevented.

I claim:

l. 'Ihe combination of means for flowing molten glass, a blower operableto draw the glass into fine fibers, a hood through which the glass isblown, .a foraminous conveyor located at the discharge end of the hoodand on which the glass fibers are blown and accumulate to form a mattedweb, means for continuously advancing said conveyor and thereby carryingthe web forward beyond the hood, the latter being spaced from theconveyor a short distance to form a throat at the point of departure ofthe web from the hood, and a suction box located at the point at whichthe -conveyor traverses said throat o-n the opposite side of theconveyor from said throat and operable to draw air through the conveyorat said throat, thereby compacting the web and facilitating its movementthrough said throat, said suction box being of such size and sopositioned that it traverses those portions only ofthe said dischargeend of the hood and interposed conveyor which are `at or closelyadjacent to the said throat, whereby the said compacting force of thedraft of air entering the suction box is localized and applied mainly tothat portion of the web entering and passing through said throat.

2. 'I'he combination of a container for molten glass having an outletopening through which the glass issues and flows in a continuous stream,blowing means arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingin the general direction in which the stream is owing as it enters saidblast and lthereby drawing the glass to fine bers or filaments, a flatscreen conveyor extending across the path of the flow of gas andsubstantially perpendicular thereto, means for continuously advancingthe conveyor across said path and thereby carrying the material forwardbeyond the blast in the form of a web comprising fibers compacted andmatted b-y the force of the blast applied thereto when the fibers arearrested on the conveyor, and a hood surrounding and conlining theblast, said hood extending into close proximity to the conveyor anddefining a predetermined area of the conveyor and causing asubstantially uniform distribution of the fibers over said area as theyaccumulate on the conveyor.

3. The combination of a container for molten glass having an outletopening through which the glass issues and flows in a continuous stream,blowing means arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingin the general di/eion in which the stream is .owing as it enters saidblast and thereby drawing the glass to fine fibers or filaments, a fiatscreen conveyor extending across the path of the flow of gas andsubstantially perpendicular thereto, means for continuously advancingthe conveyor across said path and thereby carrying the material forwardbeyond the blast in the form of a web comprising fibers compacted andmatted by the force of the blast applied thereto when the fibers arearrested on the conveyor, a hood surrounding and confining the blast,said hood extending intoclose proximity to the conveyor and defining apredetermined area of the conveyor and causing a substantially uniformdistribution of thebers over said area as they accumulate on theconveyor, a suction cham- -ber in the path of ow of the gas and at theopposite side of the conveyor from that 'on which the mat is formed, andmeans for withdrawing the gas from said suction chamber and therebyaugmenting the force of the blast and its compacting action on theaccumulating web.

4. The combination of a container for molten glass having a bottomoutlet opening through which the glass ows vertically downward in acontinuous stream, blowing means beneath and in alignment with saidoutlet and arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingdownward with the said stream, thereby drawing the glass to ne fibers orfilaments, a. flat screen conveyonextendlng horizontally across thevertical path of flow of gas and fibers, means for continuouslyadvancing the conveyor across said path and thereby carrying thematerial forward beyond the blast in the form of a web comprising fiberscompacted and matted by the forceof the blast applied thereto when thefibers are arrested on the conveyor, a hood surrounding and conning theblast, said hood overlying and defining a predetermined area of theconveyor and'causing a substantially'uniform distribution of the fibersover said area as they accumulate on the conveyor,

a suction chamber beneath said hood and conveyor, and means i'orwithdrawing the gas from said suction chamber and thereby augmenting theforce of the blast and its compacting action on the accumulating web.

5. 'I'he combination of a container for molten glass having a bottomoutlet opening through which the glassilows vertically downward in acontinuous stream, blowing means beneath and in alignment with saidoutlet and arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingdownward with the said stream, thereby drawing the glass to ne fibers orfilaments, a flat screen conveyor extending horizontally across thevertical path of ow of gas and fibers, means for continuously advancingthe conveyor across said path and thereby carrying the material forwardbeyond the blast in the form of a web comprising fibers compacted andmatted by the force of the,

blast applied thereto when the fibers are arrested on the conveyor, andmeans for directing and confining the blast to a predetermined area ofthe conveyor and thereby obtaining a concentrated force sufficient foreffecting said compacting and matting of the fibers.

v6. Apparatus for forming a matted web of bers, comprising an open-endedhood or conduit, means for causing movement of a gaseous vehicle throughsaid conduit, means for introducing loose fibers into said vehicle andcausing them to be carried therewith through the conduit, a foraminousconveyor positioned at the discharge end of the conduit and on which thefibers are arrested and accumulated to form a matted web, means forcontinuously advancing said conveyor and thereby carrying the webforward beyond the conduit, the latter having a wall thereof spaced' ashort distance from the conveyor to form a throat Vto the fibers orportion of the fibrous mat entering and passing through said throat,thus facilitating the movement of the mat through said throat.

7. The combination of a container for molten glass having an outletopening through which the glass issues and flows in a continuousstre-am,

blowing means arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingin the general direction in which the stream is flowing as it enterssaid blast and thereby drawing the glass to fine fibers or filaments, aat screen conveyor extending across the path of the iiow of gas andsubstantially perpendicular thereto, means for continuously advancingthe conveyor across said path and thereby carrying the material forwardbeyond the blast in the form of a web comprising fibers compacted'andmatted by the force of the blast applied thereto when the bers arearrested on the conveyor, a hood surrounding and confining the blast,said hood extending into close proximity to the conveyor and defining apredetermined area of the conveyor and causing a substantially uniformdistribution of the fibers over said area as they accumulate on theconveyor, a suction chamber in the path of ow of the gas and at theopposite side of the conveyor from that on which the mat is formed,means for withdrawing the gas from said suction chamber and therebyaugmenting Ithe force of the blast and its compacting action on theaccumulating web, and auxiliary suction means arranged to increase thesuction applied to the mat over a localized area at the place ofdeparture of the web from beneath the hood.

8. The combination of a container for molten glass having an outletopening through which the glass issues and flows in a continuous stream,blowing means arranged to envelop said stream in a blast of gas movingin the general direction in which the stream is owing as it enters saidblast and thereby drawing the glass to iine fibers or filaments, a fiatscreen conveyor extending across the path of the flow of gas andsubstantially perpendicular thereto, `means for continuously advancingthe conveyor across said path and thereby carrying the material forwardbeyond the i blast in the form of a web comprising fibers compacted andmatted by the force of the blast applied thereto when the fibers arearrested on the conveyor, a suction chamber in the path of flow of thegas and at the opposite side of the conveyor from that on which the matis formed,

means for withdrawing the gas from said suction chamber and therebyaugmenting the force of the blast and its compacting action on theaccumulating web, and auxiliary suction means arranged to apply anincreased suctional force to the mat over a localized area at and inclose proximity l.to the point of departure of the web from the path ofthe said blast of gas.

I ALLEN L. SIMISON.

